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LEWISTON — Author Prosper Ishimwe will speak about his book, “Neither Tutsi, nor Hutu: A Rwandan Memoir,” at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 15, at Callahan Hall in the Lewiston Public Library, 200 Lisbon st.
Ishimwe will be joined by Bates professor emeritus Charles Carnegie in the free public program.
“Neither Tutsi, nor Hutu” tells the story of Ishimwe’s journey and offers insight into the paradox of ethnicity: its fluid, chameleon character as well as the brutalities performed in its name. He inspires with his belief that individuals, groups, and countries — no matter what “side” of the conflict they take—have the power and responsibility to achieve healing, meaning and unity through truth, empathy, love and forgiveness.
Ishimwe was 8 in 1994 when genocide and war broke out in his homeland that ultimately took the lives of more than a million people. Coming of age and struggling to heal and find closure after the death of his mother, whom he never got to bury, he was disquieted to learn that talking about the war crimes he survived could antagonize the ruling elite and cost him his life. He fled his native land so he could tell his story, and found home and refuge in Lewiston.
He earned a masters degree in global policy from the University of Maine’s School of Policy and international Affairs and is a program manager for Local First Arizona, a non-profit organization working to strengthen communities and local economies through supporting, maintaining, and celebrating locally owned businesses.
Carnegie grew up in Jamaica and his family has made a home in Lewiston for the past three decades. He taught anthropology and African American studies at Bates. His research has focused on race, ethnicity, and nation as modes of classification and on the harmful impact of racism and nationalism. His publications include the book, “Postnationalism Prefigured: Caribbean Borderlands,” as well as articles and reviews in edited collections and a variety of journals.
For more information, contact the LPL Adult & Teen Services desk at 207-513-3135 or LPLReference@lewistonmaine.gov.
